


Freedom

by lasvegas_lights



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Plus some other surprise characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 09:59:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15386313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasvegas_lights/pseuds/lasvegas_lights
Summary: After Wendimoor, everyone returned to their lives, lulled into a false sense of security. They weren't expecting Blackwing to take one of their own. Their only hope of getting their friend back is to join forces, along with a little bit of help from some unexpected sources...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to check out [bloodamber's awesome art ](http://bloodamber.tumblr.com/post/176152963614)for this fic!

The van’s front wheels dropped into a large pothole without warning and the whole vehicle lurched suddenly. Just as quickly, the back wheels dipped down into the cracked tarmac.

“Shit!” Amanda swore as she was woken forcefully by the movement. Her head flew forwards uncontrollably and then flung back against the metal walls of the van. She hissed at the sharp pain and lifted her hand to the spot where her crown had made contact. “Martin!” she growled in the direction of the van’s driver as she rubbed her head.  

Vogel snickered at her and she kicked his boot in retaliation. 

Without taking his eyes off the road, Martin waved a tattooed hand in Amanda’s direction, the closest thing she knew she would get to an apology. 

The smell of smoke coming from the lit cigarette held between Martin’s lips spread to the back of the van and left Amanda craving her own hit of tobacco. She used Vogel and Cross’ shoulders for stability as she made her way up to the front and pushed her head past the chains and curtains. 

“Drummer.” He greeted her presence with the nickname he had coined for her back when they first met. 

Leaning on the back of his seat, her eyes went to the windscreen and the uneven road they continued to pass over. The road was off the beaten path and they were flanked by thick forrest on both sides. They had been on the road for hours and there were no visual clues as to where Martin was navigating them to.

There was nothing but trees for miles, same as the day before and the day before that. She knew the boys preferred the expanse of forest to city life, she just wished there was a proper bathroom with plumbing and hot water occasionally. She was a low maintenance girl but she had run out of clean clothes a few days ago and living in close quarters with four men wasn’t the most pleasant during the hot summer months. 

“Where are we?” she asked as her right hand dug around in Martin’s trouser pocket and helped herself to his battered pack of cigarettes without invitation. 

He didn’t seem even the slightest bit bothered by the hand practically feeling him up in the effort to retrieve his lighter. He was probably enjoying it, she thought and made sure she searched  _ thoroughly _ . 

Something had definitely changed between the two of them since returning from another dimension. There was a closeness they now shared with meaningful looks and touches. They found each other when it was time to bed down for the night and whole conversations took place with just their eyes. He liked to make her blush with just the right look of heat in her direction, whilst she knew how to leave him ruffled with a casual brush of fingertips against skin. Whilst nothing had actually been consummated or even really acknowledged out loud, it was only a matter of time. It was all leading to  _ something _ . She hoped.

“Somewhere with trees,” Martin replied, his answer distorted by the stick he was attempting to keep between his lips.

“Funny,” she said dryly. Drawing a cigarette from the box, she held it between her index and middle fingers and lit it before pushing the lighter and the box back into Martin’s pocket. She brought the cigarette to her lips and inhaled. 

The van lurched again, a second pothole that Martin chose not to avoid and Amanda found herself falling backwards into Gripps’ lap, somehow not losing the lit cigarette in the process. His hands went to Amanda’s hips to stop her from falling to the floor. 

“Seriously?” She groaned. “Little warning next time!”

Suddenly she froze. “Cross, That better be your crowbar between your legs.” 

He laughed as she slid off him, her ass landing on the bench with a thud. She began grumbling under her breath. 

“Here.” A snickers flew through the air and landed between her boots, thrown from the front seat. “You get angry when you’re hungry,” Martin groused. 

Vogel giggled. “Hangry,” he agreed. 

She rolled her eyes heavily but bent down to pick up the chocolate bar anyway, feeling her stomach grumble. She never turned down free food. She never questioned where all the food Martin gave her came from. The guys didn’t really eat normal food, getting all the sustenance they needed from her, and she never saw him in any kind of establishment that sold it. Still, she was always touched when he provided for her. 

She knew her brother Todd was constantly worried about her, living on the road with a group of energy-sucking vampires, on the run from a shady government agency. But she had never felt safer with Martin, Gripps, Vogel and Cross. They kept her pararibulitis attacks from getting too bad, when they camped they made sure she had the best blanket to keep her warm on cold nights and on the rare occasions they went out for the evening, no idiot with wandering hands could get anywhere close to touching her. 

She was keenly aware she had the boys wrapped around her little finger, but she never wanted to take advantage of that. In return for their protection, she cared for Vogel during his nightmares and entertained them all with stories at the bonfire, taken from the all the films and TV shows they had missed whilst being locked up by Blackwing. They were more than friends to her, they had become her family and she couldn’t bare to think what would happen to her if something were to happen to them. 

The chocolate was consumed in a few short mouthfuls and the empty wrapped stuffed into her pocket to deal with later. She returned to her cigarette, and took a deep drag of the addictive substance, blowing it back out in a large cloud of smoke. 

“Much better.” She grinned in satisfaction, licking the leftover chocolate from her lips. Lifting herself back up onto her feet, she ducked her head back into the front and without warning pressed a kiss to Martin’s cheek. 

“What was that for?” He asked with an arched eyebrow. He took his eyes off the road briefly to put his eyes on her. By the way he shifted slightly in his seat Amanda knew he had been affected by the press of lips against his skin. 

“For looking after me,” she answered with a shrug. The look of surprise on his face was worth it. 

There was a chorus of teasing coos and shrieks from behind her and she kicked her right boot back in the hopes of hitting one of the troublemakers. 

They were all distracted. None of them heard the truck accelerating up behind them until it was too late.

With no warning, a large bang filled their ears and the entire van pitched heavily to one side, the shape of the vehicle began crumpling under the force of whatever had hit them. 

The motion yanked Martin’s head left until it hit the window with a sharp crack, leaving blood smeared on the fractured glass. Amanda, unprepared for the sudden impact, flew backwards with a gasp, landing on the floor of the van with a sickening thud. There were no hands to catch her. As metal crunched and screeched against metal, the van’s occupants were thrown about like ragdolls in a washing machine. 

They finally came to a jolting stop moments later, forced off the road, the van was wedged tightly between a large oak tree and whatever had collided with them. 

Before any of them could recover from the crash, the back doors of the van were pulled open. Trapped in the front seat, the dashboard pinning his legs, Martin could only sit and watch through the rear-view mirror as two men in full black combat gear, faces obscured by gas masks, shot tranquilizer darts into his brothers without hesitation. Gripps, Cross and Vogel went limp almost immediately. 

Through the broken windscreen he could see another two men, feet planted firmly on the ground and large rifles aimed in his direction. He looked down and saw two red laser dots hovering on his chest. He growled low under his breath, snapped his teeth and stared at them with piercing feral eyes. 

“Hey, you fuckers!” he shouted at them coarsely. “You’ll fucking regret this!” 

The two in the back ignored his howls and proceeded on their mission with a single focus, pushing the heavy unconscious bodies of the Rowdy 3 out of the way until they found their target. 

Martin, ignoring the pain and the blood dripping down the side of his head, realised what their mission was and his eyes widened behind his cracked glasses as he realised who they were after. 

“No, don’t you fucking touch her!” He twisted his body around and pulled with all his strength to attempt to pull himself free. He reached back, stretched his arm as far as he could, but she was out of reach and he was powerless to stop them. 

He wanted to feed on them both until they were nothing but shells but he knew if he even tried the two men out front would kill him in an instant. He was no use to Amanda and his brothers if he was dead.

“I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you all, I fucking swear!” 

The two masked men looked at each other, communicating silently. One nodded to the other and then there was a gun aimed in Martin’s direction and a dart embedded in his neck. 

He yanked it out quickly but the drug was already working its way through his bloodstream. His arms felt heavy like lead weights and he could feel his eyes closing. He mustered the last of his strength to keep them open and watched as they lifted an unconscious Amanda off the floor. She was thrown over a shoulder without care and disappeared out of sight as the tranquilizer won it’s fight with Martin. 

Everything went to black. 


	2. Chapter 2

Todd grabbed a handful of grass and pulled until the clump was ripped from the ground. Loosening his grip, he watched the blades fly away in the soft breeze. It was the closest thing he had to entertainment as he sat by the side of the road and waited impatiently for Farah to fix Dirk’s car. They had been stationary for the better part of an hour and Todd’s ass was numb. 

“I think it’s the piston,” Dirk declared from his position beside Farah, hands on hips. Dirk had always been good at sounding like he knew what he was talking about whilst knowing absolutely nothing about what he was talking about. This was one of those occasions. 

“It’s the alternator,” Farah replied wearily, her voice muffled from underneath the hood. 

“Sure, sure,” Dirk agreed with an enthusiastic nod.  “That’s  _ exactly _ what I was thinking.”

Todd groaned and let himself fall back onto the ground. He had forgotten his sunglasses, something he had mentioned a few hundred times since leaving the new Holistic Detective Agency headquarters, and his eyes hurt from squinting in the midday sun. He was also beginning to get hungry and it was leaving him grouchy. 

It had been Dirk who had suggested getting out of the quiet office for a short drive in the hopes that they would stumble across a new case. Waiting for a new case to come to them hadn’t been very successful so far. According to Dirk, cases rarely walked through the front door, you had to go find them. One of those universe things things Todd guessed. 

The short drive had turned into a slightly longer drive when Dirk had taken a wrong turn and gotten them lost. Then the car broke down. 

“It must mean something,” Dirk argued as he paced up and down the immobile car. “Cars don’t break down on me without a  _ very _ good reason.”

“Could that reason be you haven't had this car serviced?” Todd responded. “Like, ever?”

“You’re being sceptical again.” Dirk warned him. “You know you’re going to come round to my way of thinking eventually.”

Todd sighed, realising Dirk was right. “Okay.” He grunted as he pulled himself up to his feet, brushing the stray grass off his jeans. “We’re in the middle of nowhere, so if there is a case not too far away, it should be easy to spot right?” He spun three hundred and sixty degrees to take in their surroundings but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary within.

“Unless it’s Harriet.”

“Who?”

“I’ve mentioned Harriet, I’m sure.” 

Todd looked at Dirk blankly. 

“She was at Blackwing? Can turn herself invisible?” Todd shook his head and shrugged. It still wasn’t meaning anything to him. Dirk turned to face the thick forest lining the road and cupped his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice. “Harriet! We come in peace!” he shouted. There was no response.

“Ah-ha!” Farah fiddled with something inside the car and lifted her head, narrowly avoiding hitting her head on the underside of the hood in the process. There was a smudge of grease down her cheek and when she wiped her hands down her jeans she left streaks of oil down the denim “I think that’ll do the trick,” she said proudly. “Until we get it to a garage of course.” 

Dirk dropped into the driver’s seat and turned the key. The engine came to life immediately, though with a slight stutter. “You’re amazing, Farah...as always,” Dirk complimented his friend who waved off the comment awkwardly. 

“Looks like it was just the car, not a case.” Todd strode over the car and climbed into the back seat. 

Farah dropped the hood back down and jumped into the passenger seat beside Dirk. 

As soon as her door was closed, Dirk pressed his foot down on the gas and the car jerked forwards, climbing in speed. Todd grabbed hold of the door handle as his body was thrown around by Dirk’s erratic driving. Every time Todd got into the car, he seemed to forget just how bad his friend’s driving actually was.

The car sped around a corner sharply and three sets of eyes immediately spotted something heading towards them from the other direction. Dirk reacted quickly at the sight in front of them and slammed his foot down on the break. The tires screeched and then the car was stationary once again.  

“What the hell?” Todd cried out in surprise. He was stopped from falling forwards by the seatbelt across his chest. The shock of the sudden stop had his heart racing. 

Dirk squinted and his head tilted to one side questioningly, “Is that… Is that who I think it is?” He asked.

“The Rowdy 3? Yeah, that’s them,” Farah confirmed. 

Todd reacted to Farah’s words and sat up a little straighter in his seat. “Amanda?” 

Farah shook her head slowly. “I don’t see her.” 

Martin, Gripps, Vogel and Cross were walking in a line down the middle of the road, almost covering the width of the narrow lane.

As they got closer, Farah saw a line of dark red blood down Martin’s face. 

“Oh no.” She gasped. 

With an instinct honed for years, she reached for the gun she knew was close by. Something bad had happened.

The trio climbed out of the car quickly and began closing the distance between them and the Rowdy 3. 

Farah knew, whatever had happened wasn’t good. The usual energetic and enthusiastic quartet were quiet and almost unnaturally still. It scared her.

Todd pushed past Farah and Dirk and stood in front of the Rowdy 3, feet apart and spine straight. “Where’s Amanda?” He demanded. There was a bitter taste in his mouth and a heavy weight in his stomach, the manifestations of dread overcoming him. 

Martin looked to his brothers either side of him and then back to Todd, not saying a word. 

“Did you hear me? I asked you where the hell my sister is!” Todd’s voice rose angrily. 

Finally, Martin spoke, stepping forwards. “They got her.”

“Who?” Farah demanded, grip tightening on the weapon in her hand. 

“Who do you think?” Cross snarled, looking pointedly at Dirk. 

Dirk stared back at the Rowdy 3 with wide panicked eyes. “No.” He shook his head in disbelief and took a stumbling step backwards. It couldn’t be, not again.

Todd looked from Dirk and then back to Martin, realisation in his eyes. “Blackwing,” he said quietly. “You _ let  _ Blackwing take my sister?” 

Martin wasn’t prepared for or expecting the smaller man to launch at him with fists, but Martin didn’t stop him either. It was Martin’s fault that Blackwing took Amanda. He should have sensed they were nearby. His ability to tell when danger was close had failed them, failed Amanda. Todd beat at Martin’s chest and face until Farah and Dirk grabbed his flying arms and pulled him back. 

“This is all your fault,” Todd growled, fighting against his friends’ hold on him. “I trusted you to look after her!”

“We’re gonna get her back!” Martin replied with equal ferocity. He took another step forward into Todd’s personal space, face inches from Todd’s. “We’ll burn that place down to get her back,” he promised. 

Slowly, Todd sagged and calmed enough for Farah and Dirk to let go of him. 

Farah sighed. “I want Amanda back just as much as you do, but even you guys will be outnumbered, and they’ll be waiting for you,” she reasoned. “There’s a reason they left you behind, it’s clearly a trap.”

Martin’s head snapped to Farah. “What are you sayin’?”

“I’m saying let’s think about this for a moment, come up with a plan that doesn’t end up with you being killed. Because if you die, so does Amanda.”

“Look,” Dirk stepped in. “Blackwing is clearly under new leadership, no way was this a plan orchestrated by  _ Friedkin. _ ”

“What makes you think that?” Gripps asked with a tilt of his head. 

“The man’s three fries short of a happy meal, he can’t plan his way out of a paper bag. If he was in charge, he would have taken you lot too, he barely thinks one step ahead let alone two or three” Dirk reasoned. “I don’t know a lot, but  _ that  _ I know.”

“Exactly.” Farah agreed. “So we need to work together, come up with a solid plan.”

Martin’s head itched where the gash had started to dry up and his body still ached from the crash. He wasn’t at his strongest and without a feed from Amanda he knew deep down he and the other Rowdies couldn’t take on Blackwing alone. On the other hand, he wasn’t used to needing help let alone asking for it. He and the others relied on each other for everything. This was new territory for them and it left Martin uncomfortable. 

Todd let out a long sigh. “Amanda would want us to work together,” he admitted. 

Martin didn’t trust people easily, not with how much he and his brothers had been screwed over in the past. But he knew that Amanda trusted his brother, the weird guy with the accent and the lady with the gun. 

He looked to Gripps, Vogel and Cross one more time, all looking back at their de facto leader waiting for him to make a decision. Whatever he decided. They would follow without question. 

“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “We’ll do it your way.” 

DIrk looked at his small car and back at the recently formed team in front of him. “Do you think Uber will come out this far?”


	3. Chapter 3

Martin stood in the open doorway of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, one boot on the shiny hardwood flooring, one boot on the paving stone outside. He leant his body against the door jamb and from this position he could pay attention to the goings on inside the office whilst keeping an eye on his brothers outside.

He had ventured in briefly, to wash the blood off his face in the small bathroom in the back. The cut on his forehead had already started to heal, another benefit of being whatever the hell he was. Farah had tried to insist he sit down and rest but Martin didn’t want to be away from the others who, on arrival back at the agency, had decided to stay out in the dying light instead. None of them particularly liked being surrounded by four brick walls for long periods of time, reminded them too much of being held in captivity.

Sticking to the parking lot, the three members of the Rowdy 3 took their aggression out of whatever they could find that wasn’t fixed to the ground. Martin understood this was what they needed to do. With Amanda God knows where, Blackwing doing God knows what to her, this was the closest they were to being powerless.  

“Our landlord will kick us out the minute he sees the mess they’re making,” Todd grumbled from his seat by the window, wincing when he heard another crashing sound.

“Todd, we have bigger things to worry about right now, remember?” Dirk reminded him as he paced up and down the small room.

Todd glared at his friend, his eyes following the tireless man back and forth. “I haven’t forgotten.”

Martin dropped the stub of his cigarette onto the ground, extinguishing it out under the heel of his boot as he lit up another one. His packet of cigarettes was nearly empty and there was a scattering of stubs littering the ground at Martin’s feet.

“Do you have to do that?” Todd looked at Martin in annoyance “Does he have to do that?”

Martin’s eyes sharpened in Todd’s direction and he slowly blew out a lungful of smoke. No words necessary to communicate his dislike of Drummer’s brother.

Farah rolled her eyes and stepped in between the two men to break up the glaring competition in progress. “Can we please concentrate?” Todd held his hands up in surrender and sank back into his chair. “So questions that need answering...Where is Amanda and why did they take her?” Farah paced across the room as she spoke.

“She’s at Blackwing,” Martin supplied.

“But where is that exactly?” Farah replied. “They would have moved facilities after you all escaped all those years ago, that’s standard procedure when a base is compromised.” Farah said with a shrug, speaking like it was common knowledge. “They might not have moved after your recent visit Dirk, it’s not like you ever saw the outside of the place.”

“Yes, I chose an interdimensional wormhole as my door.” Dirk’s eyes widened “Oh! That’s it!” He jumped up excitedly “We could go back to Bergsberg, break back into the Cardenas house, one bed jump later and we’re back in Wendimoor. We can go back through that portal like last time.”

“And who kept that door open for you last time?” Todd raised an eyebrow in Dirk’s direction.

“Oh.” Dirk sagged, “Amanda.” He dropped into a nearby seat.

“Let’s keep that as plan B shall we?”

“The point remains,” Farah interrupted the duo. “Finding the facility will be like finding a needle in a haystack.”

“Huh, I’ve always found it easy to find needles in haystacks.” Dirk shrugged.

Farah’s eyes slid shut and mentally counted to ten. “If we track down someone who works there, a security guard maybe, then we could follow them all the way back to the Blackwing facility,” she suggested.

The room fell silent briefly as thinking caps were put on.

Martin huffed in frustration. He wasn’t good at standing around, not doing anything, especially when he didn’t know where Amanda was or what they were putting her through. A clattering sound caught his attention and he smirked at the upturned trash can that was rolling away from Gripps. Vogel and Cross were play fighting on top of a flower bed, the colourful plants crushed under their bodies.

“I’ve got it!” Martin’s attention snapped back to the room just as Dirk jumped back up to his feet, a proud look on his face. “Assistent!”

Todd frowned and folded his arms across his chest angrily. “I thought I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Not assistant, _Assistent,_ ” Dirk corrected. “He’s a Lieutenant, works for Blackwing, we bumped into each other when I was there, like _literally_.”

“There can’t be many Assistents around.” Farah circled her desk and sat down in front of the computer.

Martin listened to the clacking sound of keys being pressed and the look of concentration on Farah’s face as she stared at the screen in front of her. He wasn’t an idiot, he knew what a computer looked like, he had just never used one before and it impressed him how easy Farah made it look.

“I think I’ve found him,” she said a few minutes and mouse clicks later. “Wow, okay,” Her expression suddenly changed into one of surprise but she said nothing to explain it.

“What? What is it?” Unable to deal with the suspense, Todd lifted himself out his chair and joined Farah at the computer, peering over her shoulder to read the screen. “Huh.”

The pair looked at the screen with matching wide eyed expressions, neither saying a word.

“Oh, you two.” Dirk didn’t like to be left out and crossed the room to lean over Farah’s other shoulder. His eyebrows rose into his hairline comically as he also looked at what was on the screen “Oh, _Ohhhh!_ ”

Martin frowned. “You gonna stare at that thing all day or are’ya gonna share?” He stubbed out his cigarette, pushed away from the door and finally entered the room.

“I found Assistent,” Farah explained. “He has an Instagram account.”

Martin arched an eyebrow, “Insta- what?”

“It’s a social networking site, people post photos to it.”

Martin stared at Farah blankly.

“Were you brought up in a cave or something?” Todd shook his head in disbelief.

“Or _something,_ ” Martin growled with a pointed look towards Dirk.

Farah returned her eyes to the screen in front of her. She scrolled through the feed of selfies, food shots and sunrises with a shake of her head, “This Assistent visits the same cafe in Portland every Sunday morning and uploads a photo of his trip each time,” she said, “He’s clearly not a well trained operative. It’s a rookie mistake, one I wouldn’t have made,” Farah looked back up at the others “We’ll just stake this cafe out and wait for him to come to us.”

“Sunday? That gives us a day to get up there,” Dirk realised.

“We can make it if we leave now.” Farah stood up. “Dirk, Todd, pack whatever you think we might need, I’ll go find us some reliable transport.”

Without instructions, Martin backed out of the office and sat down on a wall near the other Rowdies. They stopped their destruction briefly, turning to him for an explanation. “Going on a road trip boys,” he told them, knowing they didn’t need or want all the details. As long as they were going in Amanda’s direction, they would go where they needed to go and do what they needed to do.

It took a couple of hours for Farah to return with a seven seater minivan with an “I heart my children” Sticker on the bumper. A stray teddy bear and a child size shoe lay discarded in the footwells and there was a faint smell of cheetos and puke wafting up from the back seats. When asked where the hell she had found it she shook her head and replied, “Don’t ask.”

Meanwhile, Todd and Dirk had packed the office, which from Martin’s position outside just sounded like arguing. They seemed to disagree on everything and couldn’t decide on what equipment they needed. Eventually they exited the office with two large bags in each hand and pink faces from the exertion and bickering. When asked what they had actually packed, Todd looked at Farah in exasperation and responded with, “Don’t ask.”

Farah looked dubious as the bags were loaded in the back, nagging doubt filling her mind that her friends and coworkers might not have packed the right things. She made herself a mental note to be more prepared next time and have bags pre-packed.

As the trunk door clicked shut, Todd stopped and turned back towards the office. “I think I forgot my jacket, be back in a sec.” He promised before jogging back into the building.

He stopped in the centre of the room, ignoring his jacket, hung over the back of a chair nearby and sighed. The room was quiet and still but he hoped he wasn’t alone.

“Mona?” he called out loudly. “I don’t know if you’re here, if not, I’m gonna look a little crazy...” He paused and looked around the room for any sign of movement. If Mona was in the room, he couldn’t spot anything out of the ordinary. “My sister Amanda got taken by Blackwing and we’re going to get her back, but we could do with all the help we can get, so if you are here, I’m asking….please help us?”

Nothing moved. The room stayed silent. Todd’s shoulders sagged as another sigh left his body. As he moved towards the door, his hand reached out and grabbed his jacket. He closed the door behind him with a sharp click.  

* * *

Ken stood in the doorway, posture straight and hands clasped together behind his back. He looked on calmly as his staff worked, lifting the unconscious girl from the wheelchair and on to the bed. The medical staff had already checked her over and Ken was satisfied that the crash hadn’t done much permanent damage. If she died before his plan took effect it would all fall apart.

He continued to watch as a man in scrubs inserted an IV line into her arm whilst a guard secured her ankles and wrists with thick restraints. She wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. When they were done, Ken nodded and they pushed past him, exiting the room quietly.

Ken stared at the sleeping brunette emotionlessly. Finally, he lifted a phone from his pocket and pressed speed dial. “It’s me,” he said as the person on the other line picked up. “Everything’s in place.”


	4. Chapter 4

It took longer than planned to arrive at the coffee shop, the minivan pulling into the parking lot just minutes before opening time. Fitting seven people inside a car, including five Blackwing subjects, and asking them to sit still for hours on end was next to impossible, Farah discovered.

Whilst Martin insisted on driving, needing the control it gave him, Dirk came close to being killed by the eldest Rowdy on numerous occasions with his attempts to backseat drive. Farah was actually impressed by Martin’s patience and restraint.

Martin also insisted on stopping every hour or so for the Rowdies to stretch their legs and release any pent up energy from being cooped up in the car. It also gave him the opportunity to light up as Farah refused to let him smoke in the car.

By the time they had arrived, no less than six fights had broken out, one shoe had been thrown out the window onto the highway, four stop signs had been ignored and Dirk had treated the car’s occupants to a performance of the full Les Miserables score causing four of the six arguments.

As soon as the minivan pulled into park, Vogel, Gripps, and Cross jumped out, disappearing off into the nearby patch of trees in the blink of an eye, like they were wind up toys that had just been let go.

Dirk and Todd wasted no time either and climbed out after them, stretching tight muscles like some kind of ungraceful yoga and groaning like men twice their age. Farah pushed open her door and swiveled in her seat until her feet were hanging out the side.

Todd moaned as he arched his back and heard his spine crack “I need coffee.”

“Why don’t you two head inside and scope the place out?” She suggested, needing a brief respite from her friends and colleagues.

“Great idea Farah,” Dirk grinned. “Come on Todd,” Dirk patted Todd on the shoulder before striding off towards the cafe. Todd exhaled and reluctantly followed his friend into the building.

Martin stayed by the car, climbing out of the driver’s seat to smoke once again. He knew he was smoking heavily because of the stress of the situation they had landed in but he couldn’t find it in himself to cut back, the metal lighter gripped in his hand has been a present from Amanda, found in the window of a thrift shop. The feel of the engraved metal in his hand reminded him of the mission he was on. It was keeping him grounded, forcing down the urge to tear the world the shreds to find Amanda.

“You really care for her, don’t you?”

Martin didn’t respond, but glanced in Farah’s direction, still sat in the passenger seat. He wasn’t used to people being so direct with him, other than Drummer and his shoulders tensed.

“You can stop pretending you know... that you don’t.” She leant against the open door and angled her face towards the cool morning sun, “I know the two of you have been through a lot, back in Wendimoor,” she continued. “And I know you mean a lot to her, too.”

Martin snorted, “You know that, huh?”

“She calls,” Farah explained. “When you’re at a motel or close enough to civilisation, lets me know she’s okay.”

Martin gave a look to let her know this wasn’t new information. When you lived in a van with four other people, there wasn’t really anything that could be kept hidden.

Farah’s expression softened. “And all she does is talk about _you.”_

Martin swallowed hard and turned away from Farah. He turned the lighter over and over in his hand until the metal warmed.

“We’ll get her back,” Farah promised. “I know-” She cut herself off when she spotted a familiar face walking towards the entrance, “That’s him!” She reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a pair of binoculars, bringing them to her eyes with one hand whilst pulling her phone out of her jacket pocket with her other. “Todd? Assistent is entering the cafe now, we’ll grab him when he leaves, make sure he doesn’t see you.”

She hung up, chucked the binoculars in the back of the car and climbed out of her seat. “You ready?” she asked Martin, who sent her a insulted expression in reply. He was always ready.

He disappeared off to find the rest of the Rowdy 3, leaving Farah to get into position near the entrance.

She didn’t have to wait long, the wiry man dressed all in black appeared from the coffee shop a couple of minutes later, whistling to himself and unaware of what was about to happen. She watched for a moment as he lifted a phone from his pocket and started taking photos of the frothy drink from different angles.

“Assistent?”

He froze, eyes darting up in the direction of the voice which called his name and then widening at the unfamiliar woman standing in his way. He didn’t know how she knew his name but he knew it couldn’t be a good reason. He took a couple of stumbling steps in reverse, then pivoted quickly on the spot to make his getaway. He froze on the spot once again as his exit was blocked by Dirk and Todd. He recognised Dirk immediately.

“Oh no.” Assistent looked left and right, looking for another way out but instead his eyes fell on each member of the Rowdy 3, surrounding him in all directions and closing in fast. Their eyes were dark and dangerous as they stalked towards Assistent like he was prey.

The colour left his face and the drink in his hand dropped to the ground, splashing his shoes and dribbling into a large puddle on the concrete around him.

“How did you find me?” he asked Dirk, his voice shaking.

“Your Instagram, you _really_ should take more care when working for a super secret government programme,” Dirk said with a shrug, clearly enjoying the shoe being on the other foot for a change.

“Please don’t kill me,” he begged, his eyes darting between Dirk and the circling Rowdies. Martin howled and the others copied him and Assistent flinched.

“Kill you?” Dirk repeated. “We’re not here to kill you!” He laughed at the preposterous notion.

“Then what do you want?”

Farah stepped towards the Lieutenant. “To talk.”

Assistent didn’t look happy at the prospect.

“Your choice, Lieutenant, you can either talk to us or you can talk to them.” She motioned towards Martin, who snapped his teeth at the shaking man.  

He didn’t need long to decide, “You, definitely you.”

* * *

Amanda woke slowly. Her eyelids felt heavy and her whole body responded sluggishly, refusing to work like she wanted. It was like she was underwater and couldn’t quite reach the surface, no matter how much she tried.

When her eyes finally opened, thin cracks at first then wider, her vision was blurry and for a long moment she was unable to make sense of what she was seeing around her. As her sight came into focus, she realised she was lying in a dark room, grey nondescript walls, no window. Looking to the left she saw an IV pole, a bag of clear liquid hung on it and a tube snaked down the metal and across the bed to a cannula in her arm.

Was she in a hospital? She remembered getting into an accident and then not much else. Where was Martin and the other Rowdies?

Further down she saw a thick strap across her wrist and she frowned. Testing it, she lifted her arm and felt the strength of the strap holding her down. Her heartbeat began to rise as she looked over to see her right wrist also tied down as well as both her ankles.

With a head still heavy and confused, the realisation that she wasn’t in a hospital took longer than it should. Whatever drug was in her IV was keeping her drowsy. She pulled as hard as possible against the restraints but her body was weak and still ached from the collision. Sinking back against the bed in frustration, she knew she wasn’t going anywhere any time soon and she tried to calm herself down before panic overwhelmed her.

“Finally awake, I see.”

Her eyes darted over to the door which had been closed and was now open. A black man stood in the doorway in a smart suit.There was a smile on his face which Amanda didn’t like.  

“Who are you? Where am I?” Her voice was slurred and her mouth dry. She hated her body for being so uncooperative. She hadn’t felt this weak and helpless in a long time, not since the Rowdy 3 came into her life and gave her the strength she needed.

The man stepped into the room slowly, his shoes squeaking on the concrete floor, and walked towards her. She found herself shrinking back into the mattress as she watched his movements cautiously. He seemed aware of her uneasiness but did nothing to calm her. Reaching for a nearby chair, it scraped across the floor painfully as he brought it closer to the bed and sat himself down on it.

“My name is Ken Adams, I’m in charge around here.” He introduced himself.

“ _Here_ ,” Amanda repeated with a shake of her heavy head. “Where’s here?” She frowned. None of it was making any sense.

“I’m _sure_ you’ve heard of this place,” Ken answered. “After all, your friends have spent quite a bit of time here over the years.”

“No.” Amanda’s eyes widened as the realisation sunk in “Blackwing,” she whispered. Panic set in again as she realised where she was and her heart thudded in her chest.

“Good.” Ken smiled. “You have heard of us.”

“Where are they?”

“Project Incubus? Not here.”

“You don’t have them?” Amanda questioned and Ken nodded. She felt relief bubble up inside her and a soft laugh escaped.

Ken’s head tilted to one side. “What’s so funny?”

“You don’t have them,” Amanda repeated, still laughing. “Biggest mistake you made.” Ken raised an eyebrow. “What do you think they’re going to do when they find me?” she asked her captor “You’re really going to regret taking me, because they _will_ find me.” The rest of the threat was left unsaid, but understood.

Ken looked unruffled by her comments. “Don’t you see? That’s exactly what I’m hoping will happen.”

Amanda’s smile faded.

“Why do you think I took you and left them behind?” he asked, not waiting for her to answer. “I could have taken them, they were all unconscious, it would have been easy to take you all, but then I would have had the four of them and you.” He shrugged “Not much is it?”

“I don’t understand.”

“But what if I left Project Incubus behind I asked myself, maybe they would come for you alone, or maybe they would get help. Project Icarus, Project Lamia even, and they would all come for you.” He smiled. “You, Ms Brotzman, are bait.”

She balled up her hands into tight fists and pictured just what she would do to him if she ever managed to get free.

He rose to his feet, towering over Amanda. “It’s amazing how much money and resources you can save if you just wait for them to come to you. Why fight the universe when you can make the universe work for you?”

The smile that split Ken’s face left her with a chill running down her spine. “It’s only a matter of time and I can be _very_ patient.”

She knew she was in a lot of trouble and the fear left a bitter taste in her mouth. It was bad enough that she had been kidnapped by the psychos who had tortured her friends for years, but If she had an attack, it could only go one of two ways. If they somehow gave her the right medication she would survive but then it wouldn’t be long before they would want to begin testing her like a lab rat. If they didn’t treat her in time, she could easily die.

The last time she had been in this much trouble she had been stood astride a giant pair of scissors seconds from being cut in two. At least she had been with Todd, now she was alone.

He pressed a button by her bedside and a moment later a man in scrubs appeared with a large needle. He didn’t look her in the eyes as he injected the needle into her IV.

“Goodnight, Ms Brotzman.” Ken smiled at her once again.

Amanda fought against the new drugs spreading through her system but she wasn’t strong enough. Her hands relaxed against the sheets underneath her and everything went blurry once again. It was like fighting against a riptide and she felt herself being pulled under the water once more.


	5. Chapter 5

Dirk, Todd, Farah and Assistent sat around a table inside the coffee shop. Assistent had a brand new frozen latte in front of him, purchased by Farah who had also bought herself a simple black coffee. Todd was nursing a hot chocolate whilst Dirk had a sugary, colourful concoction which made Farah want to throw up just looking at it.

The Rowdy 3 had opted to stay outside which didn’t surprise Farah. The more time she spent with them, the more she saw what Amanda clearly saw in them. They were strong and free-spirited in a way that Farah envied. She would never feel the freedom that they felt out in the open, not when she saw everything as a possible threat. They thrived off chaos whilst she needed order.

Assistent stared down at his untouched drink. “If he finds out I’ve spoken to you...” He didn’t need to finish that sentence, Farah already knew.

“We just need some information,” Farah tried. “And then we’ll leave you alone, I promise.”

His foot tapped nervously against the tiled floor, forcing the table to jerk and wobble. “I really can’t help.”

Todd huffed in frustration and banged his palm on the table, catching the attention of other customers. “Why have you taken Amanda? Where is she?” He demanded.

Assistent’s eyes widened and he visibly shrunk into his chair. Todd’s attempt to get an answer out of him had had the opposite effect and his lips pressed tightly together.

Farah sighed. “Todd, Dirk, why don’t you head back to the van, I’ll be out in a minute.”

Todd opened his mouth to protest but a strong look from Farah shut him up.

“Come on, Todd, Farah’s got it under control,” Dirk reassured him, grabbing his friend by the bicep and pulling out of the chair. Farah said nothing as Dirk forcibly pushed Todd out of the shop.

Finally, as the door swooshed shut, she turned back to Assistent. “Is there anything you can tell us? _Please._ ”

“I want to,” he admitted quietly, but said nothing more.

Her interrogation training told her that if she tried to push any more he would shut down. Instead she reached into her back pocket and slid out a single business card. Dirk had been euphoric when the delivery of business cards for each of them had arrived and even she admitted it felt nice to feel legitimate when she handed one over. She pushed the card across the table, leaving it in front of the young Lieutenant.

“Take my number. If you change your mind, call me okay?”

Assistent looked at the card and back up at Farah.  

“We’re going to get her whether you help us or not. If you don’t help us, that’s your decision to make, but people will get hurt, good people and I really don’t think you want that on your conscience.”

Without waiting for an answer, Farah rose from her seat and headed for the exit. She paused in the doorway, turning back long enough to see Assistent palm the card and push it into his pocket.

* * *

After leaving the coffee shop, the group climbed back in the minivan and Martin drove them to a nearby motel. Even if Assistent wouldn't help they knew the facility they were holding Amanda in couldn't be far away. Knowing she was close but still so far away from them wasn’t easy to bear and the frustration caused a tense silence.

Enough rooms were booked for them all but without saying a word each member of the group walked past their own rooms and piled into Dirk's at the end of the walkway, without waiting for an invitation. The room was compact, only enough space a small double, a broken TV and a single plastic chair by the window. The attached bathroom looked like it hadn't had a thorough clean in over a decade and there was a faint smell of damp which made Farah wriggle her nose and breathe through her mouth.

Martin once again chose a spot standing up near the door, Gripps grabbed the chair for himself, Vogel choosing a spot on the worn carpet at his feet and Cross stood in front of the window, blocking the few rays of light pushing through the stained net curtain.

Meanwhile, Dirk and Todd sat down together on the end of the bed and Farah leant against the set of drawers being used as a TV stand.

“He really won't help?” Todd finally broke the silence.

Farah looked back at Todd. “He's scared. I don't blame him, but he took my card so I haven't given up on him just yet.”

“So what now?” Martin asked.

Farah looked around the small room and quickly realised everyone was looking at her. “Oh, you're asking me?”

“You have been the brains of the operation so far,” Dirk admitted.

“Boss would know what to do,” Vogel whined. “She always knows.” Gripps dropped a hand on Vogel's shoulder and squeezed. Farah found herself wanting to look away, not used to seeing the Rowdy 3 supporting each other so openly. “Boss sees things y’know? and we follow ‘em.”

“What do you mean? Sees things?” she questioned.

“When her attacks hit, we feed and she sees stuff,” Cross explained.

“And when she sees it, she knows where we need to go next,” Vogel added.

Farah found herself looking to Martin for confirmation. The Rowdy nodded wordlessly. She knew she should be surprised at hearing Amanda was a little extra-ordinary, but in their line of work extra-ordinary was a daily occurrence. She only wish Amanda had told her about it herself. A thought suddenly occurred to her and she rose to her feet.

“Will it work if you feed on _someone else_ having a pararibulitis attack?”

Todd's head snapped up at Farah's words. “ _No._ ” He shook his head violently. “I know what you're thinking but just-- no.”

“Will it?” she continued, her eyes still focused on Martin.

“Only one way to find out,” he finally responded.

“Farah!” Todd exclaimed angrily. “You can't be serious? I’m not an afternoon snack!”

“It might be the only way.” Farah sighed “Don't you want to do anything to get her back?”

“Yes, but-”

“She would do the same for you, and you know it.”

Todd groaned as he realised Farah was right. “Does it hurt?” he asked reluctantly, directing his question at Dirk.

“Only the usual amount,” he replied confidently, earning himself a slap on the shoulder from Farah and a glare from Todd.

Silently, Farah offered her hand palm towards Todd. A million emotions crossed his face as he weighed everything up. Finally, realising he had no other choice, he pulled an clear plastic container from his pocket. It rattled as he placed it into Farah’s hand. Farah looked down at the medication and smiled softly at Todd.

“Thank you.”

“Now what?”

“Now we wait for an attack.” Farah shrugged, “Unless there's a way to trigger one?” She looked towards the Rowdy 3 for an answer.

Vogel's face lit up. “Wanna go lay down on some train tracks?”

Todd blinked. “Let's just try the waiting thing first, shall we?”

Martin pushed away from the wall and walked towards Todd who was forced to arch his neck to look up at the tall man from his seated position. After an awkward moment, Martin dug his hand into a back pocket and pulled out a photo, folded and worn.

“This might help.” He offered the photo to Todd.

Todd's eyes flicked down to the photo and took it from Martin's tattooed hand. The photo was slowly unfolded and he stared down at a photo of his sister, smiling softly at the camera. The last time had seen the photo it had been in a frame by his window. After the Rowdy 3 had trashed his apartment he couldn’t find it anywhere and assumed it had been destroyed.

“You took this?” He ran a thumb over the photo, the middle worn and faded where it had been folded and opened multiple times. “You _kept_ this.”

Martin ignored Todd’s surprised expression. “I'm gonna want that back,” he said gruffly before turning his back to the room and returning to his place by the door.

Forcing the Rowdy 3 to stay in one place for long periods of time was difficult, Farah realised. It just wasn’t in their nature to sit still in an enclosed space and she knew it must have something to do with their time at Blackwing. From what Amanda had told her, their time caged up was pretty bad.  

Five minutes after Todd surrendered his medication to Farah, the Rowdies were clearly itching to leave the motel. It was Farah who had to remind them they needed to be near Todd when he had an attack. As a compromise, the Rowdy 3 stuck to the walkway outside the room. It gave them the freedom they wanted whilst staying close enough for when an attack hit. The room suddenly felt larger with four less people crammed inside it.

They weren’t expecting the wait to take hours. Todd felt like a pot of water on the stove that just never seemed to boil when you watched it. It was clear the others were getting impatient too. Farah used the time to clean her gun but soon ran out of gun parts to clean whilst Dirk had somehow found a fifteen year old TV Guide stuffed under the bed which had kept him entertained for less than half an hour. After discarding the magazine, he flopped down onto the bed, his head hanging loose over the edge and moaned about just how long it was taking.

Just when Todd felt like giving up and asking for his pills back, a sudden wave of pain hit and it felt like a hundred shards of glass were stabbing his body. Looking down at his body he saw the glass protruding from his stomach, blood dripping from them.

He gasped loudly, sucking in as much air as possible and gaining the attention of the Rowdy 3. His back arched, the movement unbalancing him and forcing him crashing to the carpet. As he opened his eyes and looked up, he saw the four men stand over him with hungry expressions on their faces.

Martin grinned. “It’s dinner time, boys.”

A blue light filled the room, the light brightest from the open mouths of the Rowdies. Todd closed his eyes, gripped the photo tightly in his hand and thought only of Amanda.

Suddenly the pain stopped.

Todd opened his eyes to black and darkness. For a panicked moment he thought he was blind and then he looked up and gasped. Glowing blue patterns and shapes swirled above him like an alien star system. He knew this place, remembered being here before. He had returned to the backstage of reality. How he had got to it he didn’t know. Last time he found himself behind the scenes of the universe, Amanda had brought him there which meant maybe she was here too. He hoped.

“Who are you?” A voice asked from behind him.  
  
Startled, Todd spun around and faced the stranger who definitely wasn’t Amanda “Who are _you?_ ” he replied.  


	6. Chapter 6

The man frowned. “I asked first.”

He stood in front of Todd in a well fitting black suit and tie that almost camouflaged him against the dark backdrop. It made his unnatural eyes stand out even more. They were red and shaped like fractals, just like his own eyes had been when he had been here last. Todd could only assume that his eyes looked like that now too. 

“I’m Todd.”

The man looked surprised and he arched an eyebrow. “Brotzman?”

Todd frowned. How did this man know his name? “How did you know?”

He snorted. “Well, I was hunting you for  _ months. _ ” He closed the distance between them, stopping inches away from Todd. “I thought you looked familiar.”

Todd found himself leaning back as far as he could. “And you are?”

“Oh, I’m Hugo, Hugo Friedkin, nice to finally meet you.”

“Oh, hell no.” Todd quickly took a couple of large steps back and away from Friedkin. He couldn’t believe he was back in this place and somehow the man who had taken Dirk and tortured him for months was here, too. Whilst Dirk hadn’t given him all the details of his time back at Blackwing, he had given Todd enough detail to know it hadn’t been pleasant. This wasn’t what he had signed up for. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I live here now.” Friedkin shrugged. 

“You-” Todd looked around at the nothingness that surrounded them both. “You  _ live _ here?”

“Well, I don’t eat or sleep or...well anything here really, I just sit and watch the universe mostly, I’ve learnt a lot, and I didn’t have to read _anything_!” he said with excitement clear in his voice. “Reading is  _ the worst.” _

“Sure,” Todd nodded slowly, humouring the other man. 

“So.” Friedkin clapped his hands together. “Not sure how you got here exactly, the universe has a mind of its own sometimes.” 

Todd sighed as he dropped to the floor, thought it was more like solid black nothing than floor but thinking like that would only make his head hurt. He didn’t know much about how Amanda’s visions worked, but he really didn’t think this was what she saw. The realisation that it hadn’t worked like it should had him dropping his head into his hands, they were no closer to finding his sister. 

“You okay down there, dude?” Friedkin asked, standing over Todd awkwardly, clearly unsure what to do with the despondent man who had turned up out of nowhere. 

“All I want to do is to speak to my sister... tell her we’re coming to rescue her.” 

“Amanda, right?” Friedkin guessed. “You know, I’ve learnt a trick or two back here, let me try something.” 

Todd blinked and he was alone again, Friedkin nowhere to be found. It felt like hours passed, but he knew it could only be seconds. Time clearly worked differently back here and he wondered just how much time was passing back at the motel. 

He blinked again and Friedkin was back, a giant grin on his face, unnerving Todd. “Told you I learnt a few tricks.” He took a step to the left, revealing Amanda. She was wearing a hospital gown and not much else. She swayed on her feet slightly. 

“Amanda!” Todd scrambled to his feet and ran to his sister. 

“Todd!” She opened up her arms and Todd pulled her into a tight embrace. 

“Sweet reunion,” Friedkin interrupted. “FYI, I can’t keep her here for long so you better say what you need to say.”

“Can’t believe you’re here.” Todd didn’t want to let go of Amanda, but pulled away reluctantly to look his sister in the eyes. “I mean, I know you’re not really  _ here _ ”

“I don’t know where I am right now.” She struggled to keep herself upright and held onto her brother tighter. “They’re keeping me drugged and tied down.”

“It’s okay, we’re near, me and Dirk and Farah.” Todd smiled reassuringly “And those psychos you call friends.”

“The Rowdy 3 are with you? Out of choice?”

“Everyone’s working together to get you back.”

“No, no no.” She shook her head so fast she had to drop her head onto Todd’s shoulder to recover from the dizzy spell it caused “That’s exactly what they want.”

“Who, Blackwing?”

“Don’t you see?” Amanda lifted her heavy head. “It’s all a trap designed to catch Dirk and The Rowdy 3 and any other Blackwing subject who gets caught in the crossfire.”

“Damn, that’s clever, must be Ken’s idea, the sneaky bastard,” Friedkin interjected, sounding a little impressed and a little bit jealous at what Ken had been up to in his absence. 

Todd looked at Amanda. Even with strange blue eyes, Todd could see the desperation behind them. “We’ll be careful.”

“No, it’s too dangerous, I’m not risking it, they can’t go back in cages.”

“Amanda,” he tried but she cut him off. 

“Promise me you’ll stay away, its for their own protection.”

“I can’t!” Todd shook his head, his throat was tight and he just wanted to hold onto Amanda and not let go. 

“Damn it, Todd!” Amanda growled “Just listen to me for once!”

“You think I can stop them from coming for you? Stop  _ him _ ?” Todd found himself shouting.

Amanda’s eyes snapped to him, the fight gone from her system. She had nothing left to give. 

She slid a hand into Todd’s and squeezed it tightly. 

“Tell him I’m sorry...Tell him I-”

Todd dropped onto the floor as Amanda disappeared from his arms. He slammed a fist down hard on the floor and swore loudly. 

“I held her here for as long as I could” Friedkin said, crouching beside Todd. “Time for you to go, too.” He pressed a finger to Todd’s forehead. 

Todd sat up off the floor sharply, gasping for a deep breath as he rose. The Rowdy 3 were still standing over him, though now they looked well fed and satisfied. Gripps and Cross were pushed out of the way as Dirk and Farah went to his side, kneeling beside him. 

“Well?” Dirk asked. “What did you see?”

The clock on the wall told Todd only seconds had passed. There was a strange fizzing sensation in his body, from the tips of his toes to the top of his head which had to be the result of the feeding.  _ Is this what it felt like for Amanda each time? _ He wondered. 

“Todd?” Dirk prodded him. “Anyone home?” The holistic detective waved a hand in front of the dazed man. 

Todd looked at Dirk with wide unfocused eyes. “I saw Amanda.”

“Seriously?” 

“She was there, I spoke to her.” The room looked back at him in shock. 

After behind lifted onto the bed and being handed a glass of water, Todd relayed the conversation he had had, first with Friedkin and then with Amanda. Martin revealed no emotions as Todd told the man what Amanda had said about not coming to find her. 

“It’s a trap,” he revealed. 

Farah let out a sigh “I’m not surprised, it’s the only explanation for why they left the Rowdy 3 behind and only took Amanda.”

“So what do we do?”

“Plan hasn’t changed,” Martin growled. “Trap or no trap.”

“Martin is right.” Farah stood up and pulled out the freshly cleaned gun from her waistband, “But now we know it’s a trap and they don’t know we know it’s a trap.”

Vogel’s head tilted to one side like a confused puppy. 

“They might be expecting us, but with the right plan, they won’t be expecting us at all,” she tried to explain.

Vogel’s head tilted to the other side. 

She rolled her eyes. “We need a plan of attack. If we’re clever, they won’t know what’s hit them until it’s too late. 

“Oh.” Vogel nodded, though it was clear he still wasn’t completely sure what she was saying. He looked at Cross who shrugged back.

Suddenly, Farah’s phone buzzed in her pocket. When she pulled it out she saw a single message from an unknown number. She smiled down at the words on the screen, knowing who the message was from. 

_ I’ll help.  _


	7. Chapter 7

Farah laid out the map of the facility over the hood of the minivan, holding down the edges which threatened to curl back up. The map had been hastily drawn on wallpaper ripped from the motel room from instructions sent over from the same unknown number. It marked out the door they would need to enter and the route through the building to reach Amanda’s room. The facility was a like a warren, a maze of rooms and corridors and Farah knew that without the help they received, they would have had no hope in finding Amanda before security overwhelmed them. 

The group crowded in close to each get a good look at the map, illuminated in the dark by a single torch held up by Todd. The minivan was parked on a dirt track, a short distance from the back door of Blackwing’s headquarters, far enough away to not arouse suspicion from security guards but close enough to make an fast and unexpected entrance. They had waited for night to fall, expecting a lighter security presence during the night shift. 

“So here’s the plan,” Farah spoke up over the chatter of the group. When everyone fell silent she spoke again. With her hand, she traced the routes they would all take once inside the building. “Me and Todd will head for Amanda and get her out, Dirk will be releasing any Blackwing subjects and you guys-” Farah directed at the Rowdy 3, “-we need you to keep all the guards distracted, cause as much destruction as possible.”

“Destruction we can do,” Martin confirmed, swinging a baseball bat up to rest on his shoulder. Vogel jumped up and down on the spot with excitement, clearly looking forward to causing some chaos directed at Blackwing. 

Farah looked at her watch. “He’ll be turning off the security cameras and door locks in five minutes, everyone better be ready, we only have one shot at this.” Her head lifted and her eyes fell on Dirk, a look of something akin to fear flitting across his face. “Look...If this goes wrong, Blackwing will have us all, there won’t be anyone coming for us...now’s the time to walk away.”

The Rowdy 3 looked offended at the suggestion, Martin growling under his breath in response. She wasn’t surprised by their reaction and turned her attention to Dirk. She knew it had taken a lot of courage for him to enter Blackwing alone last time and he had been rewarded for his efforts with a bullet hole in his leg, so she also knew the thought of having to go in a second time was a scary thought for the holistic detective. She had heard enough about his previous experiences being locked up in that place that she wasn’t surprised that the thought of going back in had kept him up all night and jittery all day as they prepared for their rescue mission. 

Dirk took a deep breath, “For Amanda.” 

Farah smiled back at him. “For Amanda,” she agreed. 

Out of thin air, Martin produced a second baseball bat and offered it towards Dirk. 

“For me?”  Dirk took the weapon, surprised by the gesture. He felt the weight of it in his grip. 

“Swing hard and fast, no hesitation, ya hear?”

Dirk nodded at Martin seriously and gripped the handle just a little bit tighter, then almost jumped out of his skin when Farah’s watched beeped and nearly took the minivan’s front light out when he lost control of the bat. 

“Let’s do this.” Farah cocked her gun and made towards the woods, the facility just the other side of the thick grouping of trees. The others followed her, keeping close and following her route under low branches and over felled logs. Everyone kept quiet, even the Rowdy 3 who understood the element of surprise. 

Farah lifted a hand in the air, stopping the others when they reached the edge of the woods. The building was in front of her, quiet and calm on the outside. Her eyes scanned the area like a hawk for any sign of security patrols. The coast was clear and with a sharp hand signal, the group followed her towards the building, pressing their bodies up against the brick wall. They didn’t have long to get through the unlocked door and into the building before the security system reset itself and alarms sounded.

Farah held her breath as she pushed down the handle on the door, waiting for an alarm to go off, but as the handle descended there was nothing but silence. She let out the breath she had been holding in a sigh of relief and held open the door long enough for Dirk, Todd and the Rowdy 3 to enter. 

Ahead of them were three corridors, all heading in different directions. Farah knew she and Todd needed to take the hallway on the far left to find Amanda, The Rowdy 3 had already started making their way down the corridor on the far right, leaving the middle hallway for Dirk. 

“You can do this,” Dirk whispered. 

“Thanks, you too,” Todd replied. 

Dirk looked up at his friend. “Oh, I was talking to myself.”

Farah rolled her eyes and yanked Todd away. Before disappearing around the corner, Todd looked back at Dirk and nodded at him. Dirk nodded back. 

Farah and Todd weaved through the corridors silently, ducking back into corridors when guards passed by. Eventually they managed to reach Amanda’s hallway without being caught. Farah peered around the corner at the single guard waiting outside the door. With a wave of her hand, she signaled for Todd to stay hidden and then flung herself around the corner, hoping to surprise the young member of security. Before he could even reach for his gun, Farah grabbed hold of his shirt and swing him around. A knee was thrust up into his groin and a fist swung towards his face. Todd heard the thud of a body hitting the floor.

“The coast is clear,” Farah called.

Todd turned the corner and looked down at the unconscious guard, crumpled on the floor and then back up at Farah. He would never stop being impressed by her ability to take a man down without breaking a sweat. 

Todd reached for the door and pulled, relieved when the door gave way and no alarms sounded. He didn’t know if it was luck or something else, but he couldn’t believe how smoothly the rescue mission had gone so far. 

Farah entered the room first, her gun drawn and held firmly in front of her. Todd wasn’t far behind, stepping into the dark room, his eyes quickly adapting to the low light. When his eyes adjusted, he froze at the scene in front of him. 

The bed was empty and there was a body on the floor. 

* * *

With slow footsteps, Dirk made his way down the hallway, holding onto the baseball bat tightly. Every little sound made him jump like a frightened rabbit and on a couple of occasions his shoes squeaking on the floor had his heart racing in his chest. He was convinced that every corner he turned would lead to security guards ready to lock him back up again and it left his mouth dry.

He could hear crashing and howling in the distance which could only be the Rowdy 3 and he hoped they were winning whatever fight they were in the middle of. His thoughts turned briefly to Farah and Todd and he also hoped they had already found Amanda and were on their way back to the van.  

The sound of footsteps approaching his direction had him freezing on the spot. 

The footsteps got louder and louder and he knew that if he didn’t move soon he would be caught. 

“No, no, no no no!” 

Looking around for an escape he spotted a door just up ahead. It looked like the door had a security lock on it which could only be opened by a key card but he knew the power to all the rooms would be off for another few seconds. Grabbing the chance whilst he still could, he jumped into the dark room and slammed the door shut. He dropped his forehead onto the door and sighed in relief as he heard the guards turn the corner and walk straight past the room. 

“Hey, Dirk.”

Dirk spun around in shock. As he realised who was standing in front of him he dropped the baseball bat and pressed himself tightly against the door. His jaw dropped and his heart thudded.

“Bart?”


	8. Chapter 8

“Bart?”

The room he had ducked into was large and white, a carbon copy of many of the rooms in the building. In the middle of the room was a table and chairs and at the other end was a single bed. In the corner was a small bathroom area with zero privacy. 

Bart stood a few feet away from him in a jumpsuit that almost overwhelmed her small size. Feet together and arms by her side, there was a paleness to her skin from a lack of sunlight, making Dirk wonder just how long she had been in captivity. When there didn’t seem like much that could slow her down or keep her contained, he couldn’t fathom what they had on her to make her stay.

“When did you get here?” Dirk asked, his back still firm against the door. Even though Bart hadn’t tried to kill Dirk recently, he was still wary of the holistic assassin.  _ “How _ did you get here?...Last time I saw you, you were in a jail cell in Bergsberg.”

“I killed a lot of people,” Bart explained, twisting up the cuff of her jumpsuit nervously. “In the place with the funny moon….And then the boy with the crown asked me where I wanted to go and I wanted to go to Ken.”

“Oh, I see,” Dirk replied, even though he didn’t. 

“But now I want to kill Ken and I’m  _ really _ bored, Dirk,” she sighed and took a step closer to him. 

Dirk nodded jerkily. “Right, of course.” 

“Hey.” Bart took another step closer. “What are you doing here? Did Ken put you in a room too?”

“I’m actually here to save a good friend of mine,” he explained. “And take down Blackwing in the process.”

“Take it down where?” she asked, tilting her head to one side. 

“We’re not-” He huffed in frustration. “We’re here to destroy it. For good hopefully.” 

Her eyes lit up. “You mean kill it?”

“Yes! We’re here to... kill Blackwing.”  
  
“I could kill Blackwing too, if you want,” she offered, a cautious look in her eyes at the fear of being rejected. 

Dirk considered the offer, quickly realising that having Bart working for them was so much better than the alternative. They could use all they help they could get. “You know what Bart? Your help in killing Blackwing would be  _ greatly  _ appreciated.”

She shrugged casually, trying and failing to hide the happiness in her eyes at being wanted. “Okay.”

Bart picked up the baseball bat which had rolled towards her when Dirk had dropped it and walked towards the door he was standing in front of. He scrambled out of the way and watched with wide eyes as the door which had locked shut behind him when he entered now opened without issue for Bart. She disappeared off into the hallway calmly. The sound of wood connecting with a body and the thud of a body hitting the floor had him wincing. 

Slowly he peered out of the room to check the coast was clear. There was no sign of Bart or any security guards. Dirk sighed in relief and continued on his mission to find Blackwing subjects. 

* * *

Farah dropped to her knees beside the body, her knees protesting at the hard landing on concrete. With a quick tug the person rolled onto their back limply, revealing their bloodied and unconscious face. She gasped as she realised who it was.

“Assistent?” Pressing two fingers to his neck, she was relieved to find the thumping of a pulse under her fingertips. 

“Do you think they found out he was helping us?”

“It’s the only explanation.” Farah sighed, “We need to wake him up, he might know where they’ve taken Amanda.”

“Wake him up with what?” Todd asked, scanning the room for anything of use. The room was bare apart from the bed and the chilling sight of restraints. The thought of Amanda tied down to the bed made him feel sick. 

“Assistent!” Farah shouted “Come on!” She slapped his cheek a couple of times in an attempt to wake up the Blackwing employee. Todd moved to the door to keep an eyes out for any security. 

Slowly, after a few more slaps and a hard sternal rub, Assistent roused, letting out a long moan as his eyes fluttered open and focused on Farah leaning over him.

“How many fingers am I holding up?” She held up three fingers in front of his face. 

“Three,” he croaked. “I think.”

“Good enough.” She helped him sit up, supporting him when a dizzy spell hit. “Do you remember what happened?”

“He knew,” Assistent answered, raising a hand to feel the cut on the back of his head. “Oh God,” he groaned as he pulled back his hand and saw blood. 

“What do you mean he knew?”

“I set a timer for the alarms and security doors so it couldn’t be traced back to me, but somehow he already knew. He called me down here and she was already gone….Someone must have snuck up behind me because that’s all I remember before you waking me up.”

The pain in Todd’s chest grew and he pulled his attention away from the empty hallway he was watching to look down at Assistent. “Do you know where they took her?”

“Sorry.” Assistent shook his head and then immediately looked like he regretted the movement. His wide eyes flicked up towards Todd. “But I think I know how to find out...The security office isn’t too far away, can you get me there?”

With Farah and Todd’s help, Assistent was lifted off the floor. Once on two feet, Todd took his weight, holding him upright as Farah took the lead once again, gun raised and arms steady. 

The short walk to the security post took twice as long with Assistent slowing them down but eventually they made it without being spotted. Todd propped Assistent up against the wall outside as Farah kicked the door down, expecting resistance. The room was empty. The lack of security around was starting to worry Farah. It wasn’t standard procedure to leave a security office unmanned and she hoped it just meant the Rowdy 3 were doing their job in keeping the guards distracted.

Farah and Todd helped Assistent into the room and down into a nearby office chair in front of a bank of security camera feeds. They watched as he cycled through the hundreds of CCTV cameras recording throughout the building. On one camera they could see Dirk making his way nervously down a corridor on his own, on another they spotted the Rowdy 3 mid-fight. 

“There!” Todd shouted and pointed up to one of the top screens. They all looked up at the feed of a large white room and a single person slumped in a chair in the middle. The woman’s head was drooping forward and her hair was covering her face, but Todd knew it was Amanda. 

“That’s her” Todd answered firmly. Farah squeezed Todd’s shoulder. 

“I can direct you to that room, it’s on the other side of the facility,” Assistent assured them. “And then I’ll get myself out of the building.”

“Are you sure?” Farah wasn’t convinced.

“Don’t worry about me,” Assistent shrugged. “This chair has wheels.” 

* * *

Martin prowled through the corridors of Blackwing like a predator on the hunt for prey. His brothers followed behind, all revved up ready for a fight. Cross laughed like a hyena as Gripps smashed every light they passed, counting as he went.

Martin could smell the security guards scurrying around the maze of corridors like mice and headed straight for them. One after the other went down hard and fast thanks to his baseball bat, Cross’s crowbar and the sledgehammer Gripps was wielding. None of these guards were a match for the Rowdy 3 and it felt good to be causing chaos once again. 

They turned a corner and Martin stopped mid-step, causing the others to crash into him. Martin’s eyes darkened to almost black as he stared at the man standing in the middle of the hallway, blocking their path. 

“Well, well, well boys, it’s been a while.” Priest grinned at them, the expression pulling at the healing scar that cut his face in two. 

“Not long enough,” Cross snapped, waving his weapon of choice in Priest’s direction. 

“I’m shaking in my boots.” Priest rolled his eyes. “Let’s get this over with, shall we boys?” He let out a sharp whistle and a squad of security guards appeared from all directions, armed and ready for a fight. 

“This aint going to end well for you, Priest,” Martin warned. 

“If I’m  _ really _ lucky,” Priest retorted, his eyes just a little crazier than normal. With a nod, the Blackwing guards charged at the Rowdy 3. 

There wasn’t a lot of room to move in the narrow hallway. Priest had clearly chosen the spot to trap Project Incubus into a tight spot. It didn’t seem to slow them down. They worked as one, ducking and swinging like it was a choreographed dance. Martin howled and the others howled back. 

It wasn’t long before they were standing on a pile of unconscious men and they were once again in a staring match with Priest. 

“Huh.” Priest blinked. 

Martin growled and in a flash he was close enough to feed. The others joined him and the area filled with a bright blue light. 

Priest gasped and his back arched as they continued to feed, hungrily taking everything Priest had. His eyes bulged as they drained him and then rolled back into his head. Finally he dropped to the ground, lifeless. 

Martin felt the power of a feeding run through his veins. He bared his teeth at the sight of Priest dead on the floor and looked at Gripps, Vogel and Cross stood either side of him. The tenure of Priest’s torture was over for good. 

The Rowdy 3 stepped over the body and continued forwards, not looking back. 

* * *

Farah and Dirk walked cautiously towards the door, having once again navigated the warren of rooms and corridors to get to this point. As they neared the room, they heard footsteps and looked up in time to see Dirk, walking towards the door from another direction.

“What are you two doing here?” He whispered loudly. 

Todd pointed to the room. “She’s in there, they moved her.” 

A crashing sound had them all jumping in surprise and then the Rowdy 3 appeared from a third corridor. The universe had manoeuvred them all around the building like chess pieces only to end up all together in the right place at the right time. 

“Where is she?” Martin demanded, his voice echoing against the concrete walls. 

Once again Todd pointed at the door. Without words needed, everyone moved towards the door. There was no hesitation. Farah pushed the handle down and let the door swing open to a dark room. One by one they entered. 


	9. Chapter 9

The first thing they all saw as their eyes adjusted to the dark room was the silhouette of a figure. The man had his back to the door and was standing in front of a large glass window. On the other side of the window was the stark white room which Farah, Dirk and Todd had seen on the security camera. The room in which Amanda was behind held. 

They could see her, slumped in the chair, her head down. Surrounding her chair were six guards, each with guns clipped to a black tactical vest. The message was clear. 

“I’ve been wondering when you would all arrive.” 

The man turned around to face the group and smiled but there was no warmth in it. Farah shivered. 

“Hope you all had fun running around this facility...Some more than others I think,” he added, directing his comment towards the Rowdy 3. 

Each of the Rowdies suddenly lifted their weapons high, ready for a fight but Farah held up her hand and the men reluctantly backed down. 

The man didn’t seem intimidated by the Rowdy 3 and “I’m Ken Adams, I’m responsible for Project Blackwing.”

“I know you.” Todd inched forward, narrowing his eyes at Ken. “You were at the Spring mansion, you fixed the time machine.” 

“That feels like a lifetime ago...before I truly understood what I was supposed to do.” He pressed a nearby switch on the wall which turned on the microphone and speakers, connecting the two rooms. “Do it” He ordered and the six guards immediately lifted their guns towards Amanda. 

The group surged forward. 

“Guards!” Ken shouted. Six guns cocked and the group froze mid-step. 

He smiled again, calm and composed. He wanted them to know he was in control, that he had all the power,

“Are you really going to kill an innocent woman to prove you’re powerful?” Farah challenged. 

“If I have to,” Ken glanced back to the room behind him and the scene he had orchestrated before returning his gaze to the group in front of him. “I just wanted to thank you all for making things easy for me...I only had to take Miss Brotzman and you all just walked right in the door.” He scanned the room, looking at each of the room’s occupants in turn. “I had been hoping for more of you of course, but you’ll do.”

“Here’s the deal,” he began, folding his arms across his chest. “She gets to walk out of this building, the rest of you stay behind. You try anything and they shoot to kill.”

He paid no attention to the growl that rumbled low in Martin’s throat or the glares shooting daggers at him. Farah gripped her gun tightly. 

“If you think I’m bluffing, just ask Svlad,” he added, “How’s the leg by the way?”

“Takes more than a bullet hole to slow me down.” Dirk tried not to look flustered but his hand unconsciously went to rub at his leg where the bullet had pierced his skin, 

“I look forward to finding out.” 

“We ain’t gonna be caged,” Cross snapped from over Martin’s shoulder. “Never again.” The others muttered their agreement

“That’s fine,” Ken shrugged casually. “I’ll just kill the girl.” 

There was no emotion in his voice as he threatened Amanda and it send a chill down Todd’s spine.

“You see, I do my research. I watched you all, spoke to people who knew you and you know what I realised you all had in common?  _ Amanda Brotzman _ ….she’s the one who brings you all together.” 

Movement from inside the white room caught Todd’s attention and he nudged Farah and Dirk either side of him. Ken raised an eyebrow as he realised their focus was elsewhere and turned his head to see what they were looking at. 

Slowly, ignoring the guns pointed at her, Amanda rose to her feet. The weapons pointed at her rose up alongside her, following her movements. She didn’t lift her head and her hair hung loosely over her face. The way she moved, slow and deliberate, was almost unnatural. 

“Sir!” One of them shouted, requesting further directions from their leader. 

Ken frowned, “Miss Brotzman, I suggest you sit back down now.” He ordered.

Amanda’s head finally rose and she glared at the figures in the window. “No” she replied defiantly.

“Miss Brotzman,” He tried again.

Her head tilted, “Not quite.”

In the blink of an eye, Amanda vanished and instead a small black bat was flapping around the room. It moved in between the guards with ease and the men reacted quickly, not waiting for orders from their leader. 

The occupants of the observation room ducked to the ground as bullets started flying, striking the glass and smashing it out of it’s frame. One bullet whizzed past Dirk’s shoulder and he let out a shriek. 

The gunfire stopped a few seconds later and everyone carefully rose to their feet to view the carnage in the room. The six guards lay in a heap on the floor, the white tiles covered in blood. Flying above them was the bat, unharmed. 

“Since when could Amanda do  _ that _ ?” Dirk asked in disbelief, saying what everyone in the room had been thinking. 

“She can’t,” Todd said with a shake of his head. 

In another instant, the bat was gone and standing in its place was none other than Mona Wilder. 

“But a holistic actress can,” he grinned. 

Mona waved. “Hi Dirk! Hi Todd! Hi Farah!” She jumped up and down in excitement. 

“You’re here!” Todd’s smile widened. She had clearly followed them after his plea to her. How and when she swapped places with Amanda he didn’t know. “But where’s Amanda?”

“Right here,” another voice said. Everyone spun around to find Amanda standing in the doorway, alive and well. She was still wearing the thin hospital gown and her face was pale with dark circles under eyes. Whatever she had been through had left her depleted but Amanda hated to look weak and smiled at her rescuers in an attempt to reassure them.

By the way her knees wobbled, it looked like the drugs they had her on were still working their way through her system and she grabbed hold of the doorpost for support. Martin was close and quickly stepped into her personal space to hold her steady. He wrapped an arm around her waist and held her tight against his side to keep her upright. 

“You came.” She murmured against his shoulder. 

“Like we had any other choice, Drummer,” he replied, rubbing his thumb up and down her hip in a comforting gesture. She rested her head against him wearily. 

Now that she knew Amanda was safe, Farah turned back to Ken. “It’s over, you lost.”

Even outnumbered, Ken stood his ground “I still have project Marzanna. Even if you walk out of here today, I’ll just find you all again.”

Dirk rose a hand into the air. “Just one problem….I let Bart out of her room earlier.”

Ken’s eyes widened. “You did what?”

“Terribly sorry about that,” Dirk said without an ounce of sincerity in his voice. 

“Here’s how this is going to go.” Farah raised her gun once more. “You and your men have five minutes to exit the building, after that this place will be up in flames.”  
  
“You probably don’t want to stick around for that,” Dirk suggested, a victorious smile splitting his face. 

“Every record of this place and it’s subjects will be a pile of ash once we’re done with it. That should slow you down for a while” She moved in to Ken’s personal space, her posture straight and strong. She wanted him to know she had the upper hand now. “I want you to know, everytime you try and build a place like this again, we’ll come and burn it down again,” Farah promised. 

“Your five minutes have already started,” Todd added “Better get going.” 

Ken stared at them for a long moment, considering his options. Finally he took a step forward and then another. Martin pulled Amanda out of the way as Ken slowly walked past the group. 

“Hey,” Amanda called out, pulling away from Martin and stepping into Ken’s shadow. Ken stopped and turned to face her. 

With the last dredges of energy left inside her, she pulled back her hand and thrust it forwards, her fist colliding sharply with Ken’s jaw. Ken stumbled back at the surprise attack and reached up to rub his sore face.  

“That’s for kidnapping me, asshole.” 

Holding onto Martin for support, she kicked her leg out and her foot connected with his groin. “And that’s for tying me down and drugging me up.” Ken gasped out in pain, almost folding in two. 

She sagged back against Martin’s chest from the exertion and his arms went back around her waist to stop her legs from buckling. Gripps, Cross and Vogel moved to stand around her, protectively. 

“Four minutes,” Farah reminded him and he glared at her as he forced himself upright and stumbled out of the door.  

“Can’t believe we’re letting him go, after what he did,” Todd huffed, moving to stand closer to his sister. 

“I wouldn’t worry about that, Bart has him in her sights,” Dirk explained. 

“Let’s worry about that later,” Farah intervened. “Right now we need to finish this...for good.”

Amanda arched her neck to look up at Martin. “Get me out of here?” she requested.

“Whatever you want, Drummer.” Martin knew she wouldn’t be able to walk out of the building at speed and reached down to hook his right arm under her knees. The other arm stretched across her back, and he lifted her up with ease, holding her tightly against his chest. 

“Go, we’ll meet you at the van,” Farah said. 

It was hard for Todd to watch Martin carry his sister out of the room, the rest of the Rowdy 3 leading the way, but he knew they hadn’t finished the job they had come to do. 

Whilst Mona turned into a remote controlled toy car and drove off at speed after the Rowdy 3, Farah, Dirk and Todd navigated their way to the control room where all the records of all the projects were kept. Sitting down at one of the computers, Farah was able to turn off the building’s sprinkler system and any systems which would have alerted the outside world to the fire burning inside the building. Dirk pulled open every metal filing cabinet in the room, exposing the paper inside to ensure every single file would be caught by the fire. 

Once finished, Farah and Todd headed towards the door but Dirk froze in the middle of the room. His eyes were dark with determination, the fear that Blackwing had brought out in him had finally left his body.

“Dirk?” Todd looked at his friend in confusion. 

“There’s something I need to do,” He explained, turning back to the bank of computer screens and lowering himself into a seat. He stared at the small webcam sitting above the screen directing in front of him and let out a long steadying breath. 

* * *

When Dirk was finished, they left the room at a jogging pace and found a nearby closet filled with cleaning supplies.

They took whatever flammable chemicals they could find and carry, and started pouring it over whatever would catch light, splitting up to cause maximum damage. They had come prepared and each pulled a lighter from a pocket. Farah returned to the control room to spill the chemicals over the files and lit them all without hesitation.

As the flames and heat begun to overtake the building, the trio escaped through the door they had entered through. When they rejoined the Rowdy 3, the four men were stood in a line watching the fire through the trees, grinning at the destruction they were witnessing. The usually boisterous gang were quieter than usual though, aware that behind them, Amanda was curled up in the passenger seat of the van, fast asleep. 

It was finally over, the ex-projects realised. There was no record of them existing and the chances of someone coming after them were slim. 

The light of the fire illuminated the tears in Dirk’s eyes. The feeling at seeing the organisation which had chased, caged and tortured him for most of his life burn to the ground was indescribable. “I’m free,” he gasped. He grinned at his friends. “Did it!” He added softly with a snap of his fingers.

He jerked suddenly at the sound of someone crashing through the woods and out of nowhere Bart was standing in front of them, bloodied and covered in black ash. Somewhere in the building she had swapped the baseball bat for a semi-automatic. 

“Have you seen Ken?”


	10. Chapter 10

Amanda woke slowly, her eyelids heavy and her body warm and comfortable under a heavy quilt. The first thing her eyes focused on when she opened her eyes was Martin, asleep in a chair beside her bed. He didn’t look particularly comfortable propped up in the seat, but she’d seen him fall asleep in worse positions so she wasn’t too worried about him. 

Letting her eyes move around the room, she took in a familiar guitar and piles of clothing that she recognised as Todd’s and she knew she was home, or the closest thing to it when you lived on the road. The important thing was that she was safe and away from the hellhole that was Blackwing. 

“Oh!” 

Amanda looked up to see Farah peeking her head around the door. 

“You’re awake finally, can I get you anything?”

Amanda realised just how thirsty she was having been asleep for a long time. “Water?”

“Of course, be right back.”

Amanda pushed back the covers and shuffled back and up until she was propped up against the headboard. Looking down she took in the Mexican Funeral t-shirt and shorts she was wearing which she didn’t remember putting on.

“Don’t worry,” Farah said as she re-entered the room with a glass of water in her hand. She clearly knew what Amanda had been thinking, “I kicked the guys out after we got you in here and re-dressed you,” she explained as she perched on the side of the bed and offered the glass towards Amanda. “You fell asleep in the car once we got you out of Blackwing and stayed that way for the long journey back here. We were wondering when you would wake up, they must have had you on some heavy drugs.”

Amanda took the offered glass and downed half of it in one go. “Thanks,” she replied, ignoring the comment about the drugs they had her on. It was the last thing she wanted to think about. 

“I know you don’t want to talk about it...but I’m dying to know.”

“Know what?” Amanda asked apprehensively. 

“What happened...how it all happened, where the hell you were when we came for you.”

Amanda sighed and took another gulp of water, using the time to gather her thoughts quickly. “I was in a storage closet, had been ever since Mona found me a few hours before you arrived” she began. “She untied me and helped me out of the bed. Next thing I know I’m looking at myself and tying Mona down onto the bed in my place...it’s like she knew what would happen to me if I stayed.”

“Mona hears a lot when inanimate.” 

Amanda nodded in agreement. “When the hallway was clear I stumbled down and threw myself into the nearest closet. I was in there for what felt like  _ days, _ in the dark, freezing my ass off in that damn gown.”

“Until you heard us arrive” Farah guessed. 

Amanda smiled. “I heard your voice, Todd’s... knew you’d come to get me...just took some time for my legs to work enough to come find you.”

“If Mona hadn’t been there…” Farah shuddered at the thought. It could have gone a lot differently. 

“Where is she now?”

Farah grinned. “If she’s here, we haven’t seen her yet.”

“Hey Mona!” Amanda called out. “If you’re in here, then thank you, I owe you one.” Her raised voice was enough to make Martin stir in his chair. 

Farah knew it was time for her to make her exit. She squeezed Amanda’s hand. “Good to have you back,” she said, before rising and disappearing out of the door. 

Amanda looked over at Martin and smiled. It wasn’t often she got to watch him be so vulnerable, or so quiet. For a moment, tied up on the bed all alone, she didn’t think she would see him again. The relief of being back within touching distance of the man she’d come to feel so deeply for was overwhelming. 

Reaching over, he was close enough to slip her fingers through his, her thumb stroking the inked skin over his knuckles. The soothing motion pulled him back to consciousness and his eyes flicked open, quickly falling on Amanda. 

“You’re awake.” His voice was deep and gruff from sleep. 

“So everyone keeps telling me.” 

He sat up, his bones clicking as he stretched his spine, refusing to let go of Amanda’s hand as he moved. With his spare hand he reached for his glasses that had been dropped on the nearby windowsill and slid them back onto his face. 

“Where are the others?” 

“Fixing the van,” Martin explained. “Should be back up and running in a few days.”

“Good. Looking forward to being out of a bed.” Martin snorted. “Until then…” She tugged at Martin’s hand. “Come join me?”

She didn’t have to ask twice. He let her pull him out of the chair and then he waited for her to shift over enough to make a space for him. He sat on the edge of the bed and swung his legs over, dropping his boots on top of the covers and resting his back against the headboard. Amanda slipped down the bed and dropped her head down onto Martin’s thigh and smiled as his hand came to rest on her head, threading through her hair gently. 

“Thank you for coming for me,” Amanda sighed. 

“You think we wouldn’t?” Martin countered. “I know you didn’t want us to, you told your brother to leave you there.”

Amanda frowned. “I thought that was a dream.” She remembered the conversation she had with Todd, telling him it was all a trap. She had been so dosed up at the time she had convinced herself it was her mind playing tricks on her. “Thanks for ignoring me then.”

“Anytime.” He stroked her hair in repetitive movements until her body relaxed and her breathing slowed.

* * *

Amanda sat in the office’s window seat, knees drawn up as she watched Dirk and Todd bickering. She couldn’t even tell what it was about, though it sounded like they had been having the same conversation on and off for months.

She looked over at Farah who gave her a look of exasperation from over the top of her computer screen which made Amanda snigger. 

She had enjoyed the last few days with Todd, Dirk and Farah whilst she regained her strength. After Martin had reluctantly left to help the boys rebuild the van, Amanda had needed the distraction. 

Dirk entertained her with stories of the cases they had found themselves embroiled in. She laughed at his storytelling and encouraged more stories out of him until it was after midnight. 

Todd handed her a pair of drumsticks and jammed with her. He strummed his electric guitar whilst she drummed out a rhythm of anything close by which made a percussive sound. When she closed her eyes, it felt like they were back in her garage, like none of the last year had happened. 

When Todd and Dirk exhausted her, Farah sent them away with a sharp look and the two women drank their way through a six pack of beer and talked about life, the universe and everything. 

The longer she stayed, the clearer it was that she was meant to be out on the road. She wasn’t used to being separated from her Rowdy boys and she ached to be back with them. 

Her thoughts were cut off by a knock on the front door. She looked at Dirk and Todd who looked back at her and then to Farah in confusion. They weren’t expecting any visitors. 

“It’s open!” Todd shouted. 

Slowly, the door opened and revealed a familiar figure. 

“Assistent?” Farah rose from her desk. 

Assistent stepped into the office awkwardly, nodding a greeting at everyone in the room. 

“What are you doing here?” She asked. 

“I came to...I’m not really sure actually.” He shrugged. “Didn’t really have anywhere else to go, not since….” He looked at Amanda. “I’m glad you’re safe, I’m sorry that I-” He couldn’t finish his sentence and instead dropped his eyes to the floor.

Amanda hadn’t met Assistent during her short stay at Blackwing, but Farah had filled her in on how they had found her and got into the building. She climbed off the seat and went to Assistent. “It’s okay, really, you more than made up for it,” she reassured him. 

Assistent smiled at Amanda, relief in his eyes before looked back at Farah. “I’m fairly well organised, know my way around a computer….any chance you’re looking for an assistant here?”

“You want to work for us?  _ Here? _ ” Dirk asked. 

“I’ve done a lot to harm people like you,” Assistent answered. “Now I want to help.”

The sincerity in his eyes was clear to everyone in the room. Dirk looked at Farah and Todd, a silent conversation happening between the three business partners. Finally, Dirk smiled at Assistent and held out an open hand towards the young man. “Welcome to Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.”

Amanda’s attention was once again diverted by the familiar rumble of an engine and then the thumping beat of music blaring from speakers. Amanda ran to the window and her face beamed as she saw her home come to a stop outside the office. The horn sounded, like they weren’t sure their arrival had been noticed. 

“Finally!” Looking at the van, she could see the marks where the van had been hit. To her to showed just how indestructable the van and its inhabitants really were. They were knocked down, but they got back up again to fight another day. 

The blood from Assistant's face drained as he saw who had arrived. 

“Don’t worry, they’re not here for you,” Amanda reassured him. She crossed the room and pulled Farah into a tight hug. “Thanks for everything Farah, I mean that.” She pulled away and went for Dirk, embracing him just as tightly. “Save some of those stories for my next visit okay?”

Dirk nodded. “Until next time.”

When Amanda turned to Todd she sighed at the look of distress in his eyes. 

“You’re really leaving?”

Amanda frowned. “Did you think I was going to stay forever?”

“I had hoped.”

“I belong with them, Todd, we need each other.”

“And what about me?” Todd asked; “I need you...they’re the reason you got caught in the first place.”

“Todd,” she sighed, shifting closer to her brother and wrapping her arms around Todd’s neck. Eventually she felt Todd’s arms wrap around her waist. “You’re my family...but they are, too.”

“Even  _ him _ ?” he whispered. 

Amanda smiled softly into her brother’s neck. “Especially him.” They pulled apart and Amanda began towards the door. 

“Don’t forget to call!” Todd called after her.

Amanda rolled her eyes. “Yes, Todd.”

“And be carefull!”

She stopped in the doorway and turned back to the occupants in the room. “I’ll be back soon, I promise...oh, and Todd?” She raised her hand and lifted her middle finger in his direction. She laughed at the look of shock on his face and then skipped out the door without looking back. 

As she neared the vehicle, she could see the passenger seat was empty, waiting for her and she headed straight for it. Flinging open the door, she almost jumped into the van. Though she had regained her energy since being rescued, there was almost a feeling of electricity that flowed through her as she settled back into the seat. 

Martin was back into his usual place in the driver’s seat, one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the back of Amanda’s headrest, a lit cigarette held between two fingers. Looking back, her eyes met Cross, Gripps and Vogel one by one and she felt like the final jigsaw puzzle put into place. They were complete. 

Before he could say anything, Amanda reached over, framing his face with her hands. She leant forwards and pressed her lips to his. Martin sank into the kiss, letting go of the wheel to cup the back of her head. The sounds of celebration from the back of the van were deafening and Amanda smiled against Martin. 

“Been wanting to do that for a while,” Amanda admitted when they broke apart. 

“Likewise, Drummer.” Martin smiled at her. “You ready to go?"

“Always.” 

With a twist of his wrist, the keys turned and the engine roared to life. Amanda joined the chorus of howls and hollers as the van lurched and accelerated forwards. She kept one eye on the road and one eye on Martin and grinned until her face hurt. The feeling of being free, a million possibilities ahead of them filled Amanda. They were finally free of Blackwing. 

* * *

 

**Epilogue**

The blonde woman sat at the large glass conference table staring down at the report laid out in front of her. Photos of the burnt out facility were scattered around showing the extent of the damage. It was unsalvageable. By the time a clean up crew made it to the building it was just smoke, ash and blackened concrete. She scanned the text and saw that at least twelve bodies were found, which was an inconvenience. Having to explain away deaths was a complication she hated to deal with. 

The report was incomplete, much to her annoyance. Camera footage from inside had been wiped for the hour before the building went up and the man she had left in charge had yet to be heard from. She wasn’t sure how she was going to explain what had happened to the higher ups when she wasn’t clear what had happened herself. They were not going to be happy to have lost multiple projects with no explanation. 

“Ma’am?”

She looked up at the nervous looking man in the door and glared at him. “What?” she responded sharply. How many times would she have to say she didn’t like interruptions?

“You’re gonna want to see this.” The man stepped into the room with an open laptop and placed it down on the glass in front of her. He pressed a button and a video started to play as the man made a hasty exit. 

On the screen, a familiar face appeared from one side, his face filling the shot. In the background she recognised the control room at the facility. 

“Am I recording?” The man looked off screen and after being satisfied by the answer he received, turned back to look at the camera.

“Right...Hello,” The man settled into his seat. “Not sure who I’m speaking to exactly,” he began. “But I think you know who I am.” 

She looked at a nearby stack of folders, narrowing her focus down to the largest of the files, labelled Project Icarus. 

“In a moment we’re going to burn this place down, because you made a really big mistake by taking my friend. The reason I’m telling you this is because I want you to know, want you listen to what I have to say… We’re not  _ designed _ to be put away in cages, we have a purpose, the universe needs us out in the world fixing it. We are  _ utterly _ uncontainable...we are leaves on the stream of creation and  _ nothing  _ you do will stop us.” Project Icarus looked down the camera with determination. “We’re not going to run from you, but if you find us and try and lock us up? Just you wait because the universe is on  _ our _ side.”

The screen went black. 

**Author's Note:**

> There are a few people I have to thank for being so awesome whilst I was writing this: intricatecakes, thatfaerieprincess and setmeatopthepyre for fixing puncuation, saying lots of nice things and being general cheerleaders for me as I wrote this. Couldn't have done it without you guys!!


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